According to www.shootingtracker.com, a crowd-sourced mass shooting tracker, there were 365 mass shootings in 2013. The current number for 2014 is 227. The website defines a “mass shooting” as any incident in which four or more people have been shot.

Because of these numbers and trends of violence in the country, the APD in conjunction with the Alton Fire Department worked together early Sunday morning for an active shooter drill.

The drill took place in the Alton Square Mall before it opened on Sunday. It utilized police armed with actual weapons such as AR-15 assault rifles, MP-5 submachine guns, and Glock pistols. The guns, however, were loaded with simulated ammunition that were similar to paint bullets.

The AFD was on hand to train with the police for handling a mass shooting event. According to Alton Fire Chief Bernie Sebold, things have changed for first responders in mass shooting situations.

“We used to wait until the police had the suspect apprehended or in custody before we went in,” Sebold said. “There are a lot of injured and hiding people in there, though. Time is critical in matters like that.”

Firefighters would have a police escort into the building. They would be outfitted with bullet-proof vests and ballistics helmets.

“We’re not being trained to carry firearms and shoot weapons,” Sebold said.

The police and firefighters worked through two scenarios involving an active shooter. The first was scripted with all parties having knowledge of it. The second was not scripted. Even Simmons was unaware of the plan for it.

“If I don’t know what’s supposed to go down, I can make a more accurate assessment of how they did,” Simmons said.

The first scenario occurred near the food court and children’s play area. Role playing volunteers from Lewis and Clark Community College and the APD Explorers Club pretended to be victims of a shooting. They directed the police in the drill toward the shooter.

In the first scenario, the shooter retreated into the family restroom near the play area. Police cleared the men’s and women’s restrooms before kicking open the door of the family restroom. The role player acting as the shooter was able to squeeze a few rounds before being stopped by the officers.

In the first scenario, however, only the shooter would have suffered major injuries.

“In an actual situation, we would call in Madison County as well as mutual aid from Wood River, East Alton, and probably even Brighton to assist,” Simmons said.

Patrol units from APD were called to assist with the drill as well.

The second scenario involved a shooter on the lower floor near Illinois Wholesale Furniture and the Hayner Library branch. The shooter in that scenario had a hostage.

Police were not aware of the scenario at the time of the drill, but used guidance from the role players to find the shooter with a hostage. The police were able to disable the suspect without harm to the hostage.

After the drill, Simmons told his officers that they need to utilize victims in times of crisis for information. He said that the freed hostage should be asked about possible other shooters in the vicinity as well as possible explosive devices that the shooter may have planted during the rampage.

There was going to be a third scenario staged, but the AFD had to respond to a small basement fire between the first and second drills. They returned a bit after 9 a.m. Business owners would start coming to the mall around 10 a.m., so the drill had to be completed by then.

Lori Ehlers, the general manager of the Alton Square Mall was pleased with the drill. Mall security was on hand to observe and participate as well.

“We wanted to do active shooting training in the mall,” Ehlers said. “We want our staff to be prepared in case something were to happen.”

The scenarios were concocted by Sergeant Mike Gordon and Lieutenant John Frankie. Neither participated in the exercises, but both were observers.

Simmons, Sebold, and Ehlers each said that the training drill is not based on any sort of threat to the Alton Square Mall or to any target in Alton. The police department does similar training throughout the year, and tries to work with the fire department once or twice during the year.